Introduction

According to Roman Legends the twin sons of Mars, Romulus and Remus, were left abandoned to die but were found and raised by a wolf. Once they had grown they decided to found a new settlement but could not decide who to be king so they both stood on hills to consult the gods Romulus saw 12 vultures and Remus saw six. Each claimed to be king so they fought during which Romulus killed Remus and became king. The roman region was habited by at least the 8th century B.C. as a small village belonging to the Latin People. By 6th century B.C. Rome was under Etruscan rule till 509 B.C.,the start of the Roman Republic. The Roman republic ended in 133 B.C. when the assassinated dictator's, Caesar,son ascended the the throne as Emperor Augustus. This became the the start of the Roman Empire.

Roman Religion

-Many of the Roman gods were based off the Greek gods
  • Jupiter was the god of the sky and the king of the gods was based off Zeus
  • Mars was the god of war and based off Ares
  • Juno was the god of women and fertility and based off Hera
  • Minerva was the god of crafts and art and based off Athena
  • Neptune was the God of the sea and based of Poseidon
  • Saturn was god of agriculture and protector of harvests and based on Cronos
  • Tellus was god of earth and based on Gaia
  • Mercury was the god of travellers and messenger of the gods and based of hermes
  • external image jupiter.jpgexternal image marsstatue.jpg
Jupiter god of the sky Mars god of war
-Mystery Religions
  • Many Romans became part of "Mystery Religions"
  • Cult of Isis originated from Egypt
  • Cult of Mithras originated from Persia
external image isisblueredwings.gif
Egyptian god Isis
- christianity
  • Started during the Roman empire under the emperor Augustus
  • The religion was persecuted because of suspected disloyalty to Rome because they refused to honor the Roman Gods
  • Emperor Constantine ended Persecution of christianity in 313 A.D. by issuing Edict of Milian
  • Edict of Milian allowed freedom to worship any god for all citizen in the roman empire
  • Emperor Theodosius made christianity the official religion of Rome about 80 years after Edict of Milian
  • external image rome_a6.jpg
Roman Mosaic of Christ
-Emperors
  • The emperors were seen as God's representative on earth before and after Rome's conversion to christianity

sources

"Roman religion." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
"Athena." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
"Christianity." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
"Saturn." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
"Ceres." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 16 Sept. 2011.
"Romulus and Remus." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.
"Roman Republic." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 19 Sept. 2011.

Prentice Hall World History Connections to Today volume 1